USC Provost C.L. Max Nikias has announced a new initiative in the area of biomedical nanoscience, with a Biomedical Nanoscience Initiative Steering Committee to be headed by Keck School of Medicine pathologist Richard J. Cote and Mark E. Thompson of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Viterbi School of Engineering.

Nanotechnology—the study and building of devices on the scale of atoms and molecules—will “play a vital role in the future of major research universities,” Nikias said in announcing the initiative.

“This technology will allow us to build an entirely new class of products and devices that will revolutionize our approach to disease detection, treatment, and restoration of function,” he added. “These products will not only extend lives; they will improve the quality of lives. The possibilities are far beyond what we can now imagine.”

This new focus on biomedical nanoscience is an excellent example of the push toward intercampus, interdisciplinary research as called for in USC’s strategic initiative, Cote noted. “This committee spans many different schools and departments, and transcends both campuses,” he said. “We intend to take advantage of the diversity and wealth of intellectual strength present at USC, and take a highly integrated and multidisciplinary approach to develop the tremendous potential of this nascent technology.”

“This initiative recognizes the breathtaking possibilities in this area of research,” adds Keck School of Medicine Dean Brian Henderson, “and is very forward-looking. Given the Keck School’s multidisciplinary approach to scientific investigations, we should be able to be a leading participant in this initiative.”

The initiative will focus on three specific research goals:

• Detection of disease at the earliest possible time, before it can cause damage;

• Delivery of treatment “at the right place and at the right time”; and

• Reestablishing tissue and organ function through innovative approaches.

To get on track to meet these goals, the Biomedical Nanoscience Initiative Steering Committee, with the support of Nikias and Vice Provost for Research Advancement Randolph Hall, is going to hold a university-wide retreat early next year, in which it will work to come up with recommendations and strategies as to what sorts of investments USC needs to be making in nanobiomedicine.

“My office will support the expansion and upgrading of our core infrastructure for nanoscience and biomedical research,” Nikias said. “Our researchers will need common laboratories in which to work, and we will establish two: one on the Health Sciences Campus and one on the University Park Campus. Moreover, in our recruitment efforts, we will target faculty whose work will strengthen this initiative.”

Such an integrative and multidisciplinary effort will require input from all sectors of the USC research community, Nikias noted. Some of the programs involved in this initiative include: the Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems Engineering Research Center, the Norris Cancer Center, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, the Initiative for Stem Cell Medicine, the Alfred Mann Institute, the Information Sciences Institute/High Performance Computing Center, the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, and others.

In addition, Cote noted, the initiative will take advantage of what he called “remarkable regional strengths” as well as existing collaborations in nanobiomedicine.

In addition to Cote, committee participants from the Health Sciences Campus include: Peter Conti, professor of radiology; Ram Datar, assistant professor of clinical pathology; Joseph Hacia, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering; Laurence Kedes, William M. Keck Professor and director of the Institute for Genetic Medicine; Robert Maxson, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Nouri Neamati, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences; and Timothy Triche, pathologist-in-chief at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.